5 Reasons to Stay Hopeful After Charlottesville

In the wake of the violent white supremacist rally at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville last weekend, as well as President Donald Trump’s inability to condemn the evil of neo-Nazis, it could be tempting to sink into depression and feel powerless. But thankfully, strong communities around the world — including thousands of Care2 members — have come together to offer hope and support.

1. The University of Virginia Vigil

After such horrific violence and hatred, the people of Charlottesville have chosen a different way. On August 16, thousands of people came together on the University of Virginia campus for an unannounced vigil. They chose not to use social media to advertise the event, in an effort to avoid drawing any unwanted attention.

2. Thousands of People Stood Up to Bigotry

The students and citizens of Charlottesville are not alone. Around the country, thousands of people are taking action to show that racists, Nazis and white supremacists are not welcome in the United States. And if our president won’t stand up to hatred and cruelty, we will. The movement is only growing.

Take the residents of Durham, North Carolina. After three activists were arrested for toppling a Confederate statue earlier this week, crowds of locals showed up at the Durham County jail on August 16 to symbolically “turn themselves in.” They hoped to prompt officials to drop charges against the activists, and to show their support for racial justice.

3. Internet Domain Registrars Reject Hate

Now that we can no longer ignore the presence of hate groups, the movement to take a stand against racism is spreading across the U.S. In the tech world, GoDaddy has dropped domain registration for the Daily Stormer, a white supremacist hate site. The group then moved on to Google, but the internet giant also rejected them.

As Care2’s s.e smith explains, “GoDaddy and Google took part in what’s known as ‘deplatforming,’ a form of activism that makes it harder to disseminate hate speech or other harmful ideologies by blocking avenues of distribution.”

4. Three Major Care2 Victories for Racial Justice

Care2 members are a critical part of this movement to stand up to hate, and they’ve been very busy this week.

After GoDaddy and Google refused to support the Daily Stormer, s.e. smith started a Care2 petition demanding that Cloudflare, a San Francisco-based company which also hosts the Daily Stormer, follow suit and drop the group. On August 17, Cloudfare announced that it would no longer provide service to the neo-Nazi site.

Care2 members have also been active in securing the removal of a Confederate statue in Los Angeles. A Care2 petition demanding that the Hollywood Forever Cemetery remove a monument commemorating Confederate veterans became successful just before dawn on August 16. The statue was taken down, covered with a blue tarp and whisked away to an undisclosed location. Care2 activists joined with hundreds of others in requesting the removal of this monument.

When Trump refused to condemn the white supremacists and neo-Nazis who organized the “Unite the Right” event at Charlottesville, one Care2 member decided to take action. Kelsey B. started a Care2 petition, demanding that CEOs remove themselves from Trump’s Manufacturing Council and his Strategic and Policy Council.

Over 8,000 Care2 activists signed Kelsey’s petition, and on August 16, it became a success when Trump shut down these two councils. The president attempted to save face by announcing the move as his decision; in reality he was forced into this position when a slew of corporate leaders repudiated his comments about white supremacists. While Care2 cannot take the entire credit for this success, our petition undoubtedly made a difference.

5. A Care2 Success for Immigrant Rights

“Hate is NOT welcome in Colorado Springs” is the title of a Care2 petition in reference to VDARE, an anti-immigrant group that planned to hold a convention in Colorado Springs at the Cheyenne Mountain Resort. The petition called on the resort and Mayor Suthers to let VDARE know that they were not welcome in Colorado. On August 17, Care2 was thrilled to learn that VDARE canceled their planned conference.

Thank you, Care2 members, for adding your name to these petitions and speaking out against bigotry and hate.

In the wake of Charlottesville, Care2 and communities around the country continue coming together in the fight against racism — and they are succeeding.

Take Action!

Why not step up and join them? Whether it’s to push for the removal of a Confederate statue or oppose demonstrations by hate groups, consider starting your own petition today.

Use these guidelines to get started, and join in the movement to stand up for social justice.

In my LIFE I have NEVER seen a Worst President! Horrible behavior and a lack of real knowledge! He Pardons a known Racist that has purposefully stopped Immigrants for no criminal reason and has ignored abuse of Immigrant children. I am disgusted by Trump!

I agree Donn. It's the ignorance of history and a failure of our government ran education system. The civil war was not fought over slavery but over states rights and the right to Secession from the voluntary union.